Little Red Riding Hood
by Rick Slader
Summary: This isn't the story that your mom told you... Mostly taken from the style of the original "Fairy Tale" authors, The Brothers Grimm, This is the more realistic version of 'Little Red.'


**Little Red Riding Hood**

Red's alarm clock was still blaring when she finished getting dressed. Crossing to the door she silenced the clock as she left her room. Heading downstairs she packed a quick lunch as well as cookies and jams for her Grandma not knowing she was walking into a trap. Shouldering her cloak and started out on the well-worn path to her grandma's house.

Meanwhile at Grandma's the wolf had just finished a fabulous meal and had settled into the grandmother's bed waiting for its dessert.

Red arrived at her grandmother house and immediately knew something was wrong by the way the door looked. Scratches marred the front door. Pushing the door open the hinges groaned as the door opened. Inside was even worse, the den was a disaster area, chairs lay broken on the floor as it looked like someone had tried to defend themselves.

Walking into the next room was a mistake. The chair that her grandma had sat in was in tatters and a bloodied hand-print trailing down the wall. Running out of the house she ran back into the forest to cry.

A woodsman was passing through the area when he heard her soft cries. Searching for the source of the cries he finds Red kneeling next to a river. Cautiously approaching he asks what is the matter.

Startled by the man's appearance she shies back warily.

Noticing her distress, the woodsman tosses his axe to the edge of the clearing.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the man says, gently. "I'm Douglas, and you are?"

"R-Red," she said meekly. My name is Red.

"Okay, Red." he said,gently. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"My grandmother's house was broken into and there is a bloody hand print on the wall. I didn't have the heart to see if it was her hand print or not," she finished with a sob.

"If you want when you go back to your relative's house I'll come along."

"Red's face brightened with his offer, but a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she doesn't know all that much about him. Ignoring the voice, she accepted his offer.

Thirty minutes later Red with Douglas beside her she was ready to enter the house again. Ignoring their surroundings they searched through the house until they came upon the master bedroom.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Douglas said as he started to open the door.

Seeing the door start to open the wolf leaped down onto the floor, thankful for the carpeting to muffle his landing

Startled at seeing a wolf inside the house he stepped back.

The wolf charged Douglas and received a hatchet for his trouble. What the wolf did not see was as Douglas stepped back he drew his hatchet from behind his back..

With the hatchet buried in the wolf's head he looked around the room. With a heavy heart he confirmed what Red already knew: Her Grandmother was dead. The woodsman walked with her as she went back to her house.

She was grateful for the company and she told him of her grandmother's eccentricities as well as the times they had spent together. When they had finally arrived at her house Douglas rang the doorbell and her parents came to the door.

"Hello, sir," Douglas addressed the father. " I was just bringing your daughter home, there was an incident at her grandmother's house. A wolf somehow got in the house and I'm sorry to say that the owner of the house was killed."

"You might as well come in," Red's father said as he was consoling his wife who buried her head in his shoulder at the news.

"When I first saw Red, she was kneeling at the edge of the river crying," Douglas told them. "I approached her to see what was the matter and she told me of what she had seen in the house. The first sign of trouble was that the door was askew with claw marks on the frame. Inside the house chairs were tore apart and shredded, and there was a bloody hand-print on the wall at the base of the stairs. Telling her to wait downstairs, I followed the trail of blood to the master bedroom. Pushing the door open I watched as the wolf leaped off the bed. Taking a step back to ready my ax, the wolf charged; Acting on instinct I slayed the animal. Looking around the room I found her grandmother's body lying on the other side of the bed. Walking back downstairs I confirmed what your daughter already knew and as we were walking here she regaled me with stories of her grandmother."

Turning back towards the door Red asked: "Can't you stay for dinner?"

"I really don't want to impose"

"Nonsense," The mother said speaking for the first time. "We insist."

"Very well."

And so the woodsman spent the next few hours consoling the family and as the sun had dipped under the treeline he thanked the family for their hospitality and left without another word.


End file.
